For Malachi Lawrence, the important part is not just that the Dallas Cowboys have a preseason opener coming up. It is that Brian Schottenheimer has already said Lawrence will play in it. That puts him in the category of players expected to see real game action, even if the exact workload is still being sorted out.
On Thursday, Schottenheimer said Lawrence will “play a little bit of football” when the Cowboys meet the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday. He also said the team has not finalized snap counts yet, which leaves the door open to a range of outcomes. Still, the message was clear enough: Lawrence is set to get live preseason reps rather than sit the opener out entirely.
That matters because preseason usage often tells you how a coaching staff sees a player’s role. In this case, Lawrence is not being framed as a starter, but he is also not being protected away from the field. That suggests the Cowboys want to see him in action, even if only for a short stretch, before deciding how much more he should handle later in August.
What the workload could look like
The only firm number in the picture is the broad expectation of 10 to 15 snaps, which fits the idea of a limited but meaningful cameo. Schottenheimer said the Cowboys divide players into four groups for preseason workload, and Lawrence appears to be in the kind of lane reserved for controlled exposure rather than extended run.
That approach makes sense for a player who is not projected as a starter. The staff can get a look at how he responds in a game setting without asking him to carry a full workload. For the player, it is a chance to show timing, execution and comfort against live competition instead of practice tempo.
The bigger takeaway is simple: Malachi Lawrence is part of the Cowboys’ preseason plan, not an afterthought. The snap count may still be undecided, but the direction is set. He will get a little bit of football on Saturday, and that is enough to make the opener worth watching for what it says about where he stands.
